What Dreams May Come
by ArwenSol
Summary: When the head of the Kamiya clan disappears, Kaoru Kamiya and her fiancée Sano Sagara are the ones in charge. Enter, Kenshin. Now Kaoru faces a choice between her birthright and the stranger who touches her spirit and Sano finds himself struggling between
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer:  
**Me no ownee RuroKen

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**What Dreams May Come...**

**Summary:** When the head of the Kamiya clan disappears, Kaoru Kamiya and her fiancée Sano Sagara are the ones in charge. Enter, Kenshin a simple man claiming to be a bodyguard for hire who is more than what he seems. Besides holding on to their little family, as the forces of opposing clans converge around them in an attempt to seize power, Kaoru faces a choice between her birthright and the stranger who touches her spirit and Sano finds himself struggling between obligation and following his heart.

**Warning:** AU and somewhat OOC. The usual fluff with the possibility of angst. Rated general with the possibility of R-ratings sometime in the future.

**Pairings:** Kenshin/Kaoru, Sano/Megumi

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**Chapter 1 "A Girl's Dreams"**

Soft afternoon sunlight filtered through the bamboo latticework covering the windows, and the girl bustling around the small room stopped a moment to turn her face up to the golden warmth.

"Daydreaming again, Kaoru-chan?" a familiar masculine voice asked, and Kaoru turned with a start to glare at her fiancée leaning nonchalantly against the open doorway.

"Practicing for a career as a stalker?" she asked mulishly, resuming her dusting as she lifted small porcelain objects to whisk a graying cloth beneath them.

There was no real anger behind her words, but it had always been a point of contention that even though he was half again her size he moved with the silence of a wildcat stalking its prey.

"Y'know, if you just practiced some you could move like that too," Sano replied, grinning unashamedly and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hmph! As if I have time for that these days," she said, swatting his hands away and turning to her work with more concentration than such a simple task required.

That was the problem with old friends, they saw more than you wanted them too.

Undeterred, he pulled her back into his familiar embrace, her hands locked against her side so she couldn't put up a fight even if she'd wanted to.

"What were you thinking about," he murmured into her hair.

"Nothing," she said on a whisper, shaking her head in negation. The soft ebony strands of her hair rubbed against his chin and he breathed in the clean scent of her… raindrops on lavender.

A sad smile turned the corners of his lips; it was the same reply she always gave. Even thought they had always been close, and still were, she no longer told him everything as she used to.

And more and more often, since that fateful day when her father had disappeared, he would catch her staring blankly out the window; the strength she usually showed the world falling away to reveal the vulnerability beneath.

"What are _you_ thinking about?" she asked, so softly he barely heard her. She was relaxed now, leaning against him, her head tilted back against his shoulder, her arms covering his around her slender waist.

"I'm thinking, that it's a beautiful day… too nice to waste indoors!" he answered, swinging her around in his arms, his voice sounding happier than he actually felt.

She laughed, a lyrical sound he didn't hear enough of these days.

"You are incorrigible," she scolded but gladly threw down her dusting cloth and pulled her apron off over her head. No matter how much she or her stepmother cleaned the place, it never seemed to stay that way for very long. "So what should we do instead?"

"Hmm… picnic!" Sano declared, thinking that they needed to take advantage of the crisp autumn sunshine before it gave way to winter.

Grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the kitchen, "Let's grab some food and go down by the river," he said and Kaoru rolled her eyes at the boyish excitement in his voice.

"And who's going to pay for that food?" she teased, poking him in the ribs and he grinned rakishly at the old joke.

A long time ago, before their betrothal, Sano had come as an orphan to beg for food at the home of the leader of the Kamiya clan, Kaoru's father.

That child, whom no one else had wanted, Yasuo Kamiya had taken in and nourished in body and in spirit.

Upon his arrival Kaoru… the spoilt first child… couldn't stand that someone else was getting more attention than her and often taunted the young Sano by calling him a penniless freeloader who would eat her clan out of house and home.

Despite the teasing, Kaoru had a kind heart and childhood bickering gave way to a deep abiding friendship.

Later, when despite protests from clan elders, both began to train to lead the clan together it seemed only natural that their friendship progress to the next level.

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" he asked wryly.

"Nope," she grinned, a twinkle in her soft brown eyes.

"Women," he grumbled, walking into the kitchen and Kaoru laughed again.

"I heard that," an older voice said in mock admonition.

"That's right, Sano, don't forget you're outnumbered in this house!" Kaoru winked at Megumi who stood behind the counter chopping a rapidly diminishing pile of vegetables.

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" A dark haired boy stomped into the room, glaring at his sister for her careless words, as he went to stand next to Sano.

Looking at the two of them, Kaoru couldn't hold back a smile of sisterly pride.

Though they weren't blood brothers, the two had the same way of glaring at her and their other similar mannerisms, not to mention their porcupine hair styles, always managed to amuse her.

For a moment she let herself imagine what it would have been like if her father had never disappeared. They would all be around the kitchen, laughing at something or the other.

It was a scene similar to the real one in front of her, but in her dream there wasn't the stiff thread of tension winding itself through all their hearts.

Pulling so taut, as if, with one pull it would all fall apart.

Yahiko saw the glimmer of a tear at the corner of his sister's eye; he wasn't as unaware as the _adults_ sometimes thought he was.

"What? Nothing to say? I knew it, I'm too much man for you," he said in a gloating voice sure to snap Kaoru from her reverie, and it worked like a charm.

"Ha! You wish pint-size," she retorted, "From my calculations you only count as half, barely enough to make up for the two of us!" she put her arm around her stepmother's shoulder.

Megumi covered her mouth with her hand to hide a smile, "Kaoru, don't tease your brother."

"Yeah, hag! You heard what she said." Yahiko said triumphantly, sticking his tongue out rudely so that Sano laughed and held up his hands in an appeasing gesture.

"Now, now. Let's not get all excited," he said ignoring Kaoru's pointed glare, "we were just about to go for a picnic anyone care to join us?"

"Yeah!" Yahiko cried, his small fist pumping in the air as he ran outside, Kaoru followed, muttering under her breath about the retribution one could heap on little brothers.

"You too, Megumi-san?" Sano asked gazing down at his soon to be mother-in-law, who had moved on from chopping vegetables to slicing meat.

Her movements were so calm and steady, every measurement delicate and controlled. In fact, even though she had more to cry about than many of them, nothing seemed to perturb her.

Sometimes Sano just wanted to do something to provoke her, any reaction to show that she was human, but because of that itching awareness he always made sure his manners were unfailingly polite around her.

"No, dear," she said in a motherly tone he hated, "go on ahead."

In one second flat Sano went from the easy-going boy everyone knew to a man at the edge of his temper.

"Don't talk to me like that," he said in a low growl, and Megumi's hand stilled on the knife.

She turned her calm black-eyed gaze on him, "Like what, dear?"

"Like I'm a child," he said more calmly, "there's only a two year difference between us anyway."

Shaking off his irritation Sano snagged an apple from the fruit bowl and swallowed both apple and ill temper in a few bites as the steady thud of Megumi's blade hitting the cutting board resumed.

"Technically I am married to Kaoru's father, that also makes me your foster mother," she finally said.

He waved his hand in airy disregard, "Whatever, that's just a technicality as far as I'm concerned."

"When you marry Kaoru…" she started, but then her voice diminished and Sano looked up to see a worried frown marring her smooth brow.

Sano went up behind her, his strong hands settling on her slender shoulders and massaging gently. That's the other feeling she stirred in him that he couldn't understand, the need to protect.

"You will always have a home here," he said and felt her body shudder when she released a pent up breath and mutely nodded her head.

She didn't say anything more but their quiet was interrupted when Yahiko ran back into the kitchen, around the counter and back out… Kaoru hot on his tail.

"Hey, are we going or not? The hags starting to get restless," the boy called out loud enough for his sister to hear.

"How many times have I told you…!" Sano and Megumi heard her fuming as the siblings' voices diminished with the slamming of a door.

"Dinner will be ready by seven," Megumi said without looking up. With a sigh, Sano's hands slipped from her shoulders and he excused himself, the polite façade he always presented to her in place once more.

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Once Megumi heard the door swing close she walked briskly to the front bay window and watched the trio of her 'children' walk toward the river. 

Yahiko was running on ahead, waving an imaginary sword in the air while Kaoru and Sano walked more sedately behind him. Their heads were bent together and Megumi could only imagine what they were saying to each other.

Comforting words? Like the ones she longed to hear.

Megumi watched as Kaoru's arm went around Sano's waist and felt a sharp pain that left her gasping for breath when Sano's arm went around Kaoru's shoulder.

Confused at her own feelings, Megumi returned to the kitchen, the place where she felt the most comfortable in this huge house that felt more and more like a mausoleum each day.

Resting against the counter, she hugged herself tightly, wondering what it would feel like if arms other than her own held her. With a startling clarity she remembered the feel of Sano's warm, slightly callused hands gently rubbing her shoulders and moaned helplessly.

The sound seemed loud in the silence of the afternoon, echoing off the white tiled walls and worked like an alarm to prompt Megumi back to her task.

She had no right to these feelings. She had chosen her own course and now she would have to live with it. Any unhappiness she felt was her own fault.

Despite knowing this, Megumi couldn't help but remember the idealistic dreams she had once believed could come true.

A fulfilling career that would help save lives… instead of this purgatory of cleaning and cooking she faced each day. And a man who loved her. Deeply. Truly… instead of the cold empty bed she faced each night.

She smiled and felt the bitterness in the distortion of her own skin.

This life, her _real_ life, had taught her many things. Mostly that dreams never did come true. But the shadows of those dreams remained, calling out to her in nightmares.

Weighing her down with the burden of their hope.

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Author's Note:

This is my first RK fic so please be gentle (bet you never hear that one 66) Anyway, please R&R and let me know if you liked it, think some things need to be changed, or that it totally sucked (hopefully not the last one!)

Erm… this first chapter is a bit boring, I'll admit but it gets more exciting… promise (heard that one before too ) In this chapter I just wanted to set up a little tension between some of the characters and I hope I pulled it off see you in Chapter 2!

**Kamiya, Yasuo** "peaceful one" What I've decided to name Kaoru's father since I don't know if they actually ever say his name in the manga/anime… do they?


	2. When Night Falls

**Disclaimer:**

Me no ownee RuroKen

**What Dreams May Come…**

**Summary:** When the head of the Kamiya clan disappears, Kaoru Kamiya and her fiancée Sano Sagara are the ones in charge. Enter, Kenshin a simple man claiming to be a bodyguard for hire who is more than what he seems. Besides holding on to their little family, as the forces of opposing clans converge around them in an attempt to seize power, Kaoru faces a choice between her birthright and the stranger who touches her spirit and Sano finds himself struggling between obligation and following his heart.

**Warning**: AU and somewhat OOC. The usual fluff with the possibility of angst. Rated general with the possibility of R-ratings sometime in the future.

**Pairings**: Kenshin/Kaoru, Sano/Megumi

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**Chapter 2 "When Night Falls"**

By the time Sano, Kaoru and Yahiko began to head back toward the house, the blushing sun was riding low against the western horizon and already little squares of light illuminated the strand of homes across the river.

"That was fun!" Yahiko said on a satisfied sigh, a long river reed sticking out from between his lips.

Kaoru smiled at the carefree picture the three of them presented: a perfect little family walking down the country road.

The irony of it did not escape her.

In the distance, their house with its white washed walls and grilled iron gates seemed lost and small beneath the looming shadows cast by the neighboring forests.

Ever since her father's mysterious disappearance the Kamiya home had come to feel more and more like just a structure where she, Yahiko, Sano and Megumi ate and slept, but did not live.

Each member of her small family was caught in a little bubble that kept not only the outside world, but also each other at bay… And no matter how hard Kaoru tried to retain that old happiness, she could feel it slipping away, leaving the sad remnants of happier memories echoing through every room.

Kaoru remembered a time when it had been a place of life. Light and happiness, with laughter and music, and most important of all it had been filled with a family and friends. But even loyal friends could be driven away by threats of a cruelty worse than death.

Now only the four of them remained.

A brother and sister who had lost their father much too early; an orphan with too many responsibilities thrust on his young shoulders; and a woman who was the bride of a missing, and possibly dead, clan leader.

"At least we have each other, neh" Sano's voice said with another accurate look inside her head.

"Stop doing that," she sniped, aware that stress was making her more waspish than usual, she was sorry that Sano ended up being the one she usually took it all out on. Even though at times he definitely deserved it.

He grinned at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking and she punched him lightly on the arm, he yanked her ponytail and before they knew it Kaoru was chasing the two males with a scowl, their fluttering laughter like the last of autumn's leaves clinging tenuously to withering branches.

Kaoru heard the brittle sound for what it was, but shoved away any troubling thoughts. She wanted to forget, even if it was only for a while longer. When she finally caught up with them, gasping and out of breath at the corner of their compound, the laugh lines were smoothed away from Sano's face and Yahiko's gaze was focused tensely on something around the corner of the road.

"What is it?" she said on whisper, knowing somehow that it was important for her to stay as silent as possible.

Sano jerked his head angrily toward where Yahiko was staring, raw fury on the young boy's face. Kaoru took a surreptitious peek, and groaned inwardly, this was the very last thing she and her family needed at the moment.

Off to the side of the road, partially hidden by the wildly growing brushwood, a group of large burly men were openly harassing another boy. The boy's back was to her, the bright red hair trailing down his back marking him as a stranger to the village; but for the others… she would recognize those cruel features anywhere.

The biggest, and meanest of them was Souta, his shaggy black hair couldn't shade the maliciousness in his murky brown eyes. Despite his elevated status as the only son and heir to the Goromatsu clan, he hadn't learned the respect for power that went along with the position.

He and his gang of thugs were well-noted bullies in and around the neighboring village and worse than that, there was nothing anybody could do for fear of angering Shino, the head of the Goromatsu clan.

Kaoru's hands clenched convulsively at her side, the blood leaving them as her fingernails dug into her palm.

At one time, the Goromatsu would never have dared trespass so close to Kamiya land but ever since her father's disappearance they had become bolder, making no secret of the fact that they wanted this property for themselves.

The fury built inside Kaoru as memories of all the times they had openly mocked and threatened the tiny remains of Yasuo Kamiya's family. She watched with helpless rage as Souta's henchmen surrounded the much smaller stranger and she caught the flash of light on metal as they pulled out weapons.

The boy was unarmed.

Suddenly the resentment broke through her carefully constructed barrier and she found herself marching forward, her long strides eating up the earth between herself and the defenseless innocent.

"Kaoru, don't!"

"Idiot!"

She heard her companions' voices and the sound of Sano running toward the house. She knew he was running to get their weapons, something that would give them a fighting chance, but for herself she didn't seem to notice or care that she was completely unarmed and half the size and weight of her opponents.

From the corner of his eye, the redhead sighted movement and turned to see a black haired woman stalking toward him with all the fury of an avenging angel. Backlit by the fiery sunset outlining her lithe figure, she seemed a creature made of light herself and the stranger felt an inexplicable quickening of his heart that had nothing to do with his precarious position.

Following his gaze, his beefy harassers turned their attention to the girl, the leader Souta's dull eyes lighting up with a recognizable combination of malice and lust.

"Kaoru-chan," he said silkily, reaching out toward her but she smoothly evaded his touch.

"Let the boy go."

Chuckles rose amongst the group at the feminine demand and Kaoru feared that the men could hear the terror in her voice.

"You heard what the lady said," Sano said, coming up behind her silently, his hand casually holding a large zanbatou sword over his shoulder.

The Goromatsu men's eyes flickered to the sword and back to their leader, but Souta wasn't as dumb as his size and looks implied, he had heard about Sanosuke's prowess with both blade and fist so he banked the fire in his eyes.

"As the lady wishes," he said insolently. With a flick of his fingers the other men started to disperse down the road. But before Kaoru could dodge it, Souta's meaty hand had snaked out and grabbed a hold of her hand and he pressed it against his lips.

Kaoru snatched her hand back, wiping the sickly moist spot furiously against the side of her skirt.

"I look forward to furthering our …_acquaintance_, Kaoru-chan."

"Dream on, Souta." Sano said, his voice hard, his fingers tightening on the sword's hilt as he pulled Kaoru back with his other hand.

Holding his hands up as if in submission, Souta backed away, giving Kaoru a last lingering look before turning to join his comrades.

The look in his hooded eyes made Kaoru's shudder with equal parts disgust and dread at their implied promise. Pushing aside the feeling of dread she turned toward the boy, her eyes drawing immediately to the long cross-shaped scar on his left cheek.

"Oh, Kami! Are you okay, boy, did they do this to you?" Kaoru cried not giving him a chance to answer as she ran her fingers across his face, breathing a sigh of relief when there was no sign of bleeding.

"Relax, Kaoru," Sano said, his voice hadn't gotten any softer after the Goromatsu gangs departure, "he isn't hurt… and he's hardly a boy if you'd care to notice."

Kaoru looked at the face cupped in her palms and saw that despite the boyish looks, it was a man's eyes looking back at her. She blushed and pulled away.

"I'm glad you're all right," she said almost shyly and he smiled affably, seemingly undisturbed by his recent assault.

Before he could form a reply, the three of them heard a screech and turned just as Megumi stumbled into Sano, causing him to drop his sword at the impact.

"Megu-" Kaoru stopped short as she watched the older woman frantically running her small pale hands over Sano's body, her words tumbling over each other as she tried to figure out if he'd been hurt.

As for Sano, he stood in stoic silence, his body strangely stiff, whether it was in embarrassment or something else Kaoru couldn't tell as she put on her most reassuring smile and caught the other woman's shoulders.

"Megumi, it's all right, we're all okay" she said kindly, and her stepmother looked up at her with dazed eyes.

"You're all okay?" she seemed momentarily confused until her eyes dropped down to where her hand rested against Sano's bare chest and she pulled it away as if burned, her cheeks colouring furiously.

A gasping Yahiko soon joined them, "I tried to stop her," he managed to pant out between heaving breaths, and Kaoru rolled her eyes, sending her brother a look that promised punishment.

"Yeah, we're fine. It was just Souta and his bullies," Sano answered the older with a snort of disgust.

"I know, Yahiko told me. I was so worried," her voice was thick with unshed tears and her body had begun to quiver with the shock. The event seemed to have hit her harder than the rest of them, though it was hardly unexpected. Megumi hadn't really known what she'd signed up for when she's married into the Kamiya clan while the rest of them had had their entire lifetimes to acclimatize themselves to this warring way of life.

Maybe it was pity that made him do it, Sano wouldn't really know later, but he reached out and drew Megumi to him and felt the tremors quaking her body against his skin.

"We're all okay, now. No need to worry," he said gruffly.

She was usually so strong and assured, but seeing her like this, she seemed fragile and so poignantly young. He wished he could tell her she didn't need to always be so strong.

"Thank you, Sano-chan, I needed that," Megumi said finally pulling away, the familiar motherly smile she usually gave her _children_ back in place.

Sano frowned but held his tongue, since this was neither the time nor place, and turned instead to the mysterious boy-man they had saved.

His frown deepened when he saw that the stranger and Kaoru had not moved from their previous positions.

The redheaded man was about the same height as Kaoru so she didn't have to tilt her head back awkwardly to look up at him, but that didn't mean he could stare at her so avidly. But there seemed to be something, almost an electric connection between their two gazes that even Sano was hesitant to force apart.

"Hey, ugly. You gonna stand there the whole day?" Yahiko's sarcastic voice startled Sano into action and even as Kaoru coloured furiously at her brother's jab, he clamped a hand onto the other man's shoulder in a grip hard enough to bruise. Despite himself, Sano was impressed when the man neither flinched nor looked away from Kaoru as she proceeded to whack her brother over the head with his own shinai.

Shoving a little harder this time, Sano almost took a step back as the gaze that had Kaoru so mesmerized was turned to him. The eyes were violet, tinged with bubbles of gold that simmered just beneath the surface. Sano wondered how he had ever mistaken this man for a boy.

"You gotta name?" he demanded in a voice low and intense.

Those violet eyes looked away momentarily, unerringly seeking out Kaoru. Sano felt his anger rising, but the other remained unperturbed. Then, as if coming to some kind of private conclusion the stranger smiled congenially and bowed toward the Kamiya family.

"This one is called, Kenshin"

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Author's Note:

Sorry this chapter isn't that interesting, it's just one of those intermediate things to get the plot moving along. I hope things get more brisk from here on since I wanna get to the action myself but you can never tell with my muse… uppity brat!

I just got the RuroKen first season on DVD and it's turning out to be so much fun! Yeah although I still want to finish reading the rest of the series I don't have a change to get my hands on the rest of the books just yet.

Anyway, please R&R this chapter, even though I'm not really expecting much due to the slowness but it's nice to get comments right ;P

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**OCs:  
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**Yasua** "Peaceful one" What I've decided to name Kaoru's father  
**Goro** "Fifth" + **Matsu** "Pine"  
**Souta** "Dashing" (just a bit of irony in there 6-6)  
**Shino** "Stem of Bamboo"  
Note: they're pretty much names I picked out of a hat sweatdrop

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**Reviews:**

**hitokiri.black**: Thanks for the positive review!

**Megfan**: lol I'm a big fan of Sano and Megumi pairings so this fic will definitely have their love story developed as well.

**Kitsune's Grrl**: There you have it! Ken-san in all his bishi-glory XD A RK story just wouldn't be an RK story without him.

**omasuoniwabanshi**: wow, thanks so much for your feedback. I wasn't sure if I could convey the interaction between the three so thanks for allaying my fears As for Kaoru's father being dead… well… I have plans, so I hope you'll keep reading to find out what I have in store!

**gabyhyatt**: Is it really? I've looked everywhere and not been able to find that written anywhere. Thanks for the info, I'll stick with Yasuo for now though.

**Terra-sama**: haha! Yes, that Sano. Well, you'll have to wait and see what happens with him and his two-timing. It's possible that it could reach epic proportions! Will try to update as soon as possible!

**Keirin-Sama**: Tension is fuuuun isn't it? As long as people keep R&Ring, I'll keep writing!

**skenshingumi**: Then wait no longer ;) Thanks for commenting.


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